On Friday, teenage phenomenon Luke Littler became the youngest-ever darts world champion when he swept past three-time winner Michael van Gerwen 7-3 in the final.
According to CNN, despite being just 17, Littler entered this year’s PDC World Darts Championship as the odds-on favourite. He is a star who has transcended the sport after his unexpected run to the final last year.
A raucous crowd packed into London’s Alexandra Palace serenaded him with chants like “Walking in a Littler Wonderland,” but such pressures and expectations didn’t affect Littler’s play.
He quickly built up a 4-0 lead, and though Van Gerwen returned to win three sets, the 35-year-old Dutchman, previously the youngest-ever world champion aged 24, never really seemed able to challenge him.
Eventually, Luke Littler finished with an average score of 102.73 against Van Gerwen’s 100.69 and hit 12 180s – the maximum score in a single turn – compared to his opponent’s 13.
“I can’t believe it. Honestly, I can’t believe it,” he told Sky Sports immediately after his win, his voice almost drowned out by the crowd chanting behind him.
“We both played so well. I said in interviews that I needed to get off to a quick start tonight, and that’s what I had done. … Everyone dreams of winning this trophy, but you’ve got to get through a tough field even before qualifying; I can’t believe it.”
Since Littler rose to fame last year, he has become a household name in his native UK, and his age, candour in interviews, and matter-of-factness endear him to the British public. Even the country’s prime minister, Keir Starmer, congratulated him on “an inspirational performance under such pressure to lift the trophy.”
Such is his fame that darts has exploded in popularity, but afterwards, he refused to say whether he was now the best player in the world.
“I won’t say I’m the best; maybe stats-wise I might be the best, but I’ll never say it,” he told reporters.
For his opponent, Van Gerwen, however, Luke Littler is a generational talent. “Every chance he got to hurt me, he did. I sometimes say, ‘Every 17 years, a star is born,’ and he’s one of them,” he told Sky Sports.
